The Apprenticeship
by SunriseFarm
Summary: The Wizard trains his new apprentice. Along the way, they learn a few things about each other.
1. Chapter 1

The Apprenticeship

"Good morning, welcome to Pierre's! What can I get for you?"

"Your daughter, please."

Pierre's shoulders slumped and his face flattened. He knew this day was coming. "Yes, sir." He left the counter and knocked on his daughter's door. "Abigail? Mr. Rasmodius is here for you."

"Oh! Okay, thanks!" She hurried out to the counter, carrying two chunks of quartz. She offered the larger one to the wizard. "Hi, would you like some?"

"Make sure you wash those first, honey!" Caroline called out from the kitchen.

"Already did, Mom!"

"Thank you, Abigail," Rasmodius said, "but I've already eaten."

Abigail took a bite of the smaller quartz crystal. Pierre cringed; he hated the sound of crunching rocks and the outright weirdness of having a daughter who eats them, but he knew Abigail wouldn't stop, and it surprisingly wasn't hurting her, so he couldn't stop her.

Rasmodius seemed unfazed. "I suppose you wonder why I'm here."

Abigail nodded. Her mouth was full.

"I am looking for an apprentice. You seem to have an interest in the arcane and the occult, as well as a significant amount of raw magical talent."

"What?!"

Rasmodius simply gestured toward the quartz in Abigail's hand. "Most people can't eat those, for one." He smiled. "I have been observing you, Abigail, and would like to ask you to become my apprentice. There is no need to answer right now-please, just come to my tower and we'll speak at length there."

Her face lit up. "Dad, can I go?"

"Yes, you may," he sighed.

She wrapped him up in a hug. "Thank you!"

"Pierre, sir, I do not know when she will return to you."

Pierre scowled.

Rasmodius continued. "When is her curfew?"

"11:00pm."

"It is not my intention to cause trouble, nor to put your daughter in danger. I will walk her home and she will return by 11:00pm tonight."

"Oh!" Pierre's face softened. "Thank you."

With that, Abigail and Rasmodius left the store. As they walked to the tower, the wizard occasionally pointed into the bushes. "There's a Junimo," he'd say. "There's a fairy." He pointed to a roughed-up patch of ground. "Shadow people. That's how they get out from the underground at night. Be careful."

When they got to the tower, Rasmodius pulled out a seat at a sturdy wooden table covered with papers. "Sit. Would you like some coffee? Tea? Amethyst?"

"Awesome, thanks!" Abigail said. "I'd like some coffee with cream and an amethyst, please. What a treat!"

The wizard ascended the stairs of the tower. He continued talking, and his voice sounded just as clear and just as close as before. "I've brought you here because I need an apprentice. Eventually, I will leave the trappings of this mortal world. Still, my arcane studies must continue. In addition, to combat the dark magical forces of both the local witch and the Gotoro Empire's magical practitioners, the Valley needs a strong witch or wizard with the power of the light. All things in balance."

He walked down the stairs carrying two cups of coffee and an amethyst. "Do you have any questions?"

"Are you my dad?" she blurted. Go big or go home, right?

"I am not," he said simply. "While your suspicions are correct that I … ah … supplied the seed needed to create you, I am not your father. You are my daughter by heredity, though the honor of being your father goes to Pierre. To be a father requires unconditional love and dirty work, and Pierre has given both of those things in abundance."

Abigail raised an eyebrow.

Rasmodius continued. "He was expecting me this morning. Last week, I spoke with your father and your mother about my intentions for you."

"He didn't like that, did he?"

"Not one bit."

"He wants me at home in the kitchen, making his dinner," she scoffed.

"He wants you safe and alive, my dear! He stops you from adventuring because he doesn't want you to get killed by monsters. He dislikes the spirit board because he doesn't want you to anger the ghosts. He wants you to cook because of his admittedly outdated views; he wants you to have a husband and keep him happy so you're never alone."

She rolled her eyes.

"He was actually more willing to let you go with me than your mother was."

"What?"

"Your mother fussed about your college classes, about the dangers inherent in magic, and about needing your help at the store. While your father didn't like the idea either, he understands that you have an interest in the arcane. He understands that you want a life of adventure and novelty. His only concern was your safety."

"Really? He actually said that?" Abigail leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her coffee.

"Yes." Rasmodius neglected to mention Pierre's grumblings about having to pay an employee-that concern had nothing to do with Abigail herself. "You and I are related through heredity and magic, but Pierre is your father."

"Wow. Thanks for letting me know."

"You are welcome. Now, do you have any questions about the apprenticeship?"


	2. Chapter 2

"...so, it would be eight hours a day, five days a week, at least for now; we wouldn't do any overnight stuff or any dangerous stuff until I learn how to cast a Charm of Protection over myself."

"What about school?" Caroline asked, filling her fork with eggs.

"I haven't registered for next semester yet. I have one final due on Thursday, which I'll do today before I go. I know the material, it's just a matter of getting the test done."

"So...you just wouldn't enroll again?" Caroline asked. "This is a huge step, honey. You have to be serious about committing to something like this, you don't want to waste the wizard's time."

"Dude, Mom, I'm going to wizard school to learn magic!"

Caroline laughed. "I know it seems exciting, honey, but there's a lot of reading and memorization and repetition involved. Have you seen some of those spellbooks he has? There's a book this thick," she said, gesturing with her hands and showing a width of about a foot, "just to undo the locking charm on a bigger book of spells!"

Abigail bit her lip. She wanted, so badly, to ask how Caroline knew. She wanted to watch her mom squirm. But now was not the time. "I saw that one, Mom. It'll be a lot of work, especially at first, when I'm learning languages and potion making. Rasmodius expects me to be conversational in Dwarvish by next month! But, if I can learn and memorize a ton of stuff for accounting, I can definitely do it for something I'm actually super interested in!"

Caroline's face fell. "I thought you liked accounting…"

"As far as jobs having to do with the store go, it's my favorite," Abigail explained. "I have an easy time with numbers. But...magic! I get to learn how to do magic and commune with elementals and defend against dark spells!" She was practically squealing.

"Abby, I'll admit, part of the reason I'm so hesitant about this is that I'll miss you around the store. And around the house. Honestly, I think you're the best cook in the house, these eggs are great. And you always do a good job with the numbers...but more than that, I'll just miss hanging out with you and doing the shelves together."

"Awwww! You're gonna make me cry, Mom!" Abigail laughed nervously. "Tell you what. I'll have weekends off. We both know I'm gonna want to spend at least a day with my friends, I won't get to see them as often, either. But why don't we plan on a big family dinner every Sunday? I'll cook. Me, you, and Dad can eat a big dinner and drink wine and catch up after the store closes, okay?"

"Now you're gonna make me cry," Caroline answered. "If you're sure about this, and it sounds like you are, it's okay with me. Rasmodius spoke with us last week, and Pierre gave his okay, though he wasn't happy about it. He said he wanted something different for your future, and I do too...but ultimately, the decision isn't ours to make. It's yours."

"Thank you, Mom. I'll do my best." She picked up her plate, which she'd long since cleaned, and took Caroline's as well. She set them both in the sink. "I'm gonna go say hi to Dad before I take my final."

She walked out to the counter, patiently waited for Pierre to finish ringing Gus up for his supplies, then glomped him in a hug. "I love you, Dad!"

"I love you, too, sweetie! What's this about?"

"I'm going to be studying with Rasmodius, I'm his apprentice! Mom said it was okay! Thank you for giving your permission when Rasmodius first visited." Abigail still hadn't let go of Pierre. "I told Mom, I'll cook dinner for you guys every Sunday and we can all catch up over a bottle of wine! And I'll do my best with my studies. I'll make you proud." She stepped back.

Pierre looked absolutely crestfallen.

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"Your mom wasn't supposed to say yes," he grumbled. He spoke again, a little louder. "I was hoping she'd talk you out of it, with the sheer amount of boring busywork involved."

"Dad, I'm studying accounting. You know exactly how boring that is, which is why you get Mom or me to do the books every month."

Pierre opened his mouth to speak. He thought better of it, though, and just angrily shook his head.

"Really, Dad, I'll do my best. If my best isn't good enough, I have my community college studies to fall back on. Those credits don't expire. But since I have this opportunity, I'm going to take it. I'm going to do my best and make you proud!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less, sweetie."

Abigail flounced off to her room to take what she hoped would be the last final of her short college career, leaving Pierre at the counter.

"Son of a…" Pierre had no idea how to deal with this now that it was becoming real. What would he say to everyone? Who would take over the store? How could he convince Caroline to do the books every month? How could he be proud of a daughter who's a witch?

"Pierre?"

"Huh?"

"You alright?" It was the farmer. "I brought you some salad, I'm practically drowning in fresh produce right now!"

"That's very kind of you. I like this." Pierre took the salad and set it on the counter. "You know, your produce is selling as fast as you're bringing it in; I guess everyone's stocking up for the Feast of the Winter Star already."

"Nice! But really, are you okay?"

"Oh, just a little stressed about Abigail's new job," he said. Without letting the farmer ask where she was working, he continued. "-it'll be tough finding someone else to help around the store. We'll get through it, though, no problem. Do you need seeds today?"


	3. Chapter 3

Abigail hadn't gotten out of bed all day. She wasn't sick or depressed, though, she was just busy studying Dwarvish. Rasmodius wasn't going to give her a traditional paper exam; he was going to send her to the mines to speak to the Dwarf himself. Her task was to buy a Life Elixir, then ask about the ingredients in it and tell Rasmodius whether she could use it in the Forest Essence Potion. If so, she'd have to know how much to use, since she would be in charge of making the next batch of that potion.

Of course, this also required her to memorize the ingredients of the potion, which she'd been drilling herself on nightly. One pine needle, one oak leaf, one maple leaf, two fiddlehead ferns, one half of a slime…

"Hey, Abigail!" Sebastian walked in without knocking.

"UGH! I just lost my train of thought!"

"Oh, did I interrupt your work?"

"YES!" She slammed her book, sat up, and turned to face him.

He stepped back. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. She was still in her Junimo pajamas, her hair piled up in a messy bun on her head. She had no makeup on, her nail polish was chipped, and books and flashcards were strewn around her bed.

"Sorry. I was hoping to jam with you and Sam today, but since you're working, I won't bug you." He pulled out a paper bag from the pocket of his hoodie. "I brought you some food, though, see?" He handed her a bag of roasted chestnuts. "Even added cinnamon and sugar."

"Hey, how'd you know I was hungry? This looks delicious!" She stuffed a chestnut in her mouth.

"I'm glad. I know all too well what it's like to get interrupted when you're working,. Want me to come back later this evening with dinner?"

"Yeshpls." Her mouth was still full. She covered it, swallowed, and laughed. "Yes, please. And thanks. Tell Sam sorry I can't jam with you guys today. Not only do I have to learn Dwarvish, I have to memorize this freaking Forest Essence potion."

"Why can't you just, like, do a magic spell to put all the Dwarvish in your head?"

"That's not how it works." She gestured over to her desk, which was covered in books. "Before I start doing magic, I have to learn languages: Dwarvish, three different Fairy tongues, the languages of the Elementals...then I have to learn how to make potions, and why the potions work, and the history of the balance between Light and Dark, and what happens when the balance is off...the Forest Essence is my first potion, and Dwarvish is my first language, so it's gonna be a long time before I do any real magic."

"Aww, that sucks!"

"It's not terrible," she countered. "The languages are interesting stuff, and some of the potions will be really helpful."

"What's the Forest Essence, anyway?"

"It allows someone to learn the language of the Junimos. That's the only one I don't have to study, which is nice. The potion's made out of, like, the entire Secret Woods! One pine needle, one oak leaf, one maple leaf, one half slime, two fiddlehead ferns," she said, looking up as if to see the recipe in her mind, "two pinecones, two acorns, two maple seeds, one holly, one horseradish, a handful of chips of hardwood, a handful of Woodskip scales...one red mushroom, one purple mushroom, one morel, and one chanterelle!" She squealed out loud. "I remembered it, yay!"

"Nice! But, man, that's gotta taste disgusting!"

"It's actually not bad at all."

"Says the girl who eats rocks."

"Not rocks! Gems and minerals. I've tried stone before, that's gross."

"Doesn't the potion taste like veggies, though?"

"No, it tastes like the forest."

Sebastian laughed. There was no way he was going to understand Abigail, ever, especially now. "I'll take your word for it. I haven't tried eating the forest, either. Hey, Sam's waiting on me, so I'll let you get back to studying."

"Thanks. It was good to see you, but man, being able to study without getting crap from you means a lot."

Sebastian bit his tongue. He hoped she'd be as understanding of his work now. "Thank you. I'll be back on my way home, I'll grab something from the saloon. Or maybe Sam's mom will fix something, I dunno. See ya later!"

With that, he walked out. Abigail popped another roasted chestnut in her mouth and opened her Dwarvish For The Arcane Studies book again.


	4. Chapter 4

Fall turned to winter, then spring. Abigail spent much of her time holed up in her room, learning languages and making potions. Every Saturday, she spent as much time as she could with Sam and Sebastian; it wasn't enough to justify keeping her in the band, though. The boys became a synthpop duo over the winter, and dedicated their first EP to Abigail. Sebastian made a habit of stopping by every Saturday with breakfast, since he didn't always have a chance to see her otherwise.

Every Sunday, she made dinner for her parents, and they caught up over a bottle of wine, just as she'd promised. Sometimes, Sam and Sebastian would come for dinner as well, and they'd all stand around the kitchen, eating and drinking and chatting, since there weren't enough seats for everyone. Pierre and Caroline slowly got used to the new status quo, and they both admired how hard their daughter was working, even though she wasn't working on what they'd hoped she would.

Finally, the day Abigail had been looking forward to had arrived: The day she'd perform her first magic spell. She filled her backpack with quartz and amethyst, just as the wizard had instructed, and headed off to the tower.

When she got there, she saw Rasmodius reading a book, and a fluffy white cat sleeping on the table. "Good morning. Awww, cute kitty!" She reached out and pet the cat. "What's she doing here?"

"He," Rasmodius said simply. "That's Linus."

"Why did you name him that? Is it because he's all fluffy like the wild man?"

"I did not name him, and he is the wild man." Rasmodius muttered quietly and pointed a finger. In a flash of light, the cat turned into the wild man Linus. "My friend Linus is going to help us today."

Abigail jumped back. "Linus! Hi!"

"Hello, Abigail."

"You know Rasmodius?"

"Yeah, we're friends. I see him all the time when I'm out foraging, and we get to talking...he's a good guy."

"Likewise, sir!" Rasmodius patted Linus on the back. "Thanks again for agreeing to help today." He turned to Abigail. "Today, you're going to learn two spells. The first is a transformation hex. It is easy. It's remarkably, terrifyingly easy, in fact. Do you know why so many curses involve turning people into animals?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Because it's easy and effective." He cleared his throat. "The second spell you will learn today is an undoing spell. It is the single most important spell that you will learn in your entire magic career. At first, you will read it from a book. But by the end of the week, I expect that you will have written it down, one hundred times. I want you to know this spell as well as you know the alphabet, your address, as well as you know your own name."

Abigail nodded.

Rasmodius continued. "Before we begin, I will be casting the Hex of Permission on you. This means that you cannot perform any spell, hex, or charm on a person-except the undoing spell-without permission from that person. In addition, you will not be able to hex yourself."

Again, Rasmodius muttered. His words sounded foreign to Linus, but Abigail recognized them as the Old Fair Tongue. Abigail heard the sound of a door slamming, of chains rattling, and of a lock closing.

"Now, we may begin." He opened a small book. "Abigail, here. After you ask Linus for permission, you will read this spell. The blank in there is for the wizard to substitute the name of whichever animal they're turning the target into."

"Cool, can I turn Linus into a frog?"

Linus looked at Rasmodius and shrugged. "I gue-"

"NO!" Rasmodius scowled. "You may not. Changing someone from a human to a frog, and from a frog to a human, is very uncomfortable. Being a frog is uncomfortable and strenuous, with the constant need for water and warmth."

"I'm sorry," Abigail said. "I didn't know."

"That's alright. But no frogs. We'll be turning Linus here into a cat. Being a cat is easy, and the transformation feels quite comfortable both ways. As you read the spell, you will begin to feel power swell up in your chest, similar to when you eat a gem. When you finish the spell, you will feel the power leaving your body through your arm."

"Oh, like when I knocked Haley over that one time at the Feast of the Winter Star! That's what that was!"

"When you what…?"

"She was my secret gift-giver back in high school. She gave me one of those bark collars that you put on loud dogs."

Rasmodius tried not to laugh, and ended up snorting.

Abigail gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah, actually pretty funny now that I think about it, but also downright mean. And everyone laughed at me. Anyway. After that, I was mad at her, and I wished more than anything that she'd just fall into the punch. As she walked by the punch, my arm started feeling weird and hot, so I shook it out. She tripped over her own feet and fell right into the punch!"

"I should have put that permission hex on you the day you were born," Rasmodius said, chuckling softly.

"Honestly?" Abigail asked. "Yeah, probably so. At least I have it now, right?"

Rasmodius sighed. "Yes. Please ask Linus for permission, then begin the hex."

Abigail spent all day transforming Linus into a cat, then back into a human. She memorized the transformation hex easily, but the undoing spell was long; not only that, it was in Archaic Northern Dwarvish. As the day wore on, she began to trip over her words. She ate all the gems in her backpack.

Late that afternoon, she was tired and woozy. She couldn't get through the undoing spell without losing her place. Rasmodius changed Linus from a cat to a human one last time.

"Linus, thank you for your help."

"My pleasure," he answered. "Thank you for the tuna."

"You're welcome. You may stay here and eat dinner while I take Abigail home."

Abigail yawned. "Oh, you're walking me home?"

"No," Rasmodius answered. "Come with me to the Circle of Summoning. We'll un-summon ourselves from this place, and put you directly in your kitchen."

Abigail walked over and took the wizard's arm. In a flash of light, they were in the kitchen. Caroline jumped back.

"Abigail! What did you DO?!"

"She did nothing," Rasmodius explained. "I brought her here because she is too tired to walk home. For a beginning magic user, casting spells is very draining. She will likely sleep through most of the day tomorrow. Do not wake her, and do not be alarmed. I expect her back at my tower when she wakes up."

"Goodnight, Mom," Abigail mumbled. She gave Caroline a hug. "Goodnight, Rasmomo...Rasmund...Razza...sir."

"It's only four in the afternoon," Caroline said.

"Okay…" Her voice trailed off as she wandered down the hall. Abigail fell face-first into bed. She stayed there, fully clothed and fast asleep, until 4:00 the next afternoon.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a hot summer night. Abigail and Sebastian had enjoyed a little too much mead at the saloon, and were walking along the railroad tracks.

"If I was in any shape to drive, I'd give you a ride on my motorcycle," he said.

"And if you were in any shape to drive, I'd go along with it. But, you know, Rasmodius would be pissed if I ended up splattered all over the highway, he'd have to start all over with a new apprentice…"

"I know, right?" He stopped and faced her. "I have to say, I really admire how seriously you're taking this magic thing. I'm seeing a whole new side of you. I like it."

She looked down and smiled. "Thanks. I love magic, I love the arcane studies." She looked Sebastian in the eyes. "I really feel like I've found my calling, you know? Even learning Arcane Northern Dwarvish and mixing up potions to clean the cauldrons is fascinating to me. I miss Sam, though, I miss jamming with you guys, but I have to study." She stepped forward. "Thanks for stopping by on Saturdays. It means so much to me; I just light up every time you come in...I mean, obviously, part of it is that you have food for me, but…"

The quiet moment was shattered by a strident cackle. Sebastian looked around. Abigail looked up, and saw a green-skinned woman on a broomstick.

"Witch!"

"That's what that was?" Sebastian asked. "I thought the witch was just made up…"

"No, there's actually a witch here." Abigail spoke quickly. "I'll tell you more later, I think we should go to your house. Now."

She tugged on the sleeve of his hoodie, pulling him downhill toward his house.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing yet," Abigail whispered, "but I get the feeling that she doesn't like me. And she really doesn't like Rasmodius, so let's just-"

There was a flash of light. Abigail felt a brittle cold, like frostbite from the inside out. She felt pain in her bones and a desolate chill on her skin. She fell to the ground in a heap. She was wet, she was freezing, and despite not moving, she was lost. There was a boulder to her left, and a giant black boot to her right. She tried to stand, but toppled forward on to the boot.

There was another flash of light, followed by a loud croak. The boot disappeared, leaving what appeared to be a frog in its place. Abigail couldn't quite see it; it was blurry, like everything else in her close field of vision.

Abigail felt heat from above. When she looked up, she saw only green. The witch's hand scooped her up. "You're coming with me!"

She saw the frog on the ground clearly for the first time. Was it Sebastian? The witch grabbed that frog by a hind leg and threw it like a frisbee down the mountain. With that, the witch took flight on her broom, right into a mountain cave, with Abigail still in her hand.

The next few minutes were a blur of light and darkness, muffled words and strange sounds, and pain. The cold and the pain colored everything; she felt brittle, she felt throbbing in her bones. She was freezing. She was thirsty. She was starting to believe that she'd been turned into a frog, just like Sebastian.

"Poor thing, you look so dry," the witch said. She set Abigail down on the table. Abigail watched as the witch walked over to a sink and filled a large bowl with water. She dribbled a few drops on Abigail's head. The water was warm. It felt good. "Do you like that, dear?"

Abigail tried to answer. She couldn't make a sound. She tried to nod her head. The closest thing she could do was a push-up.

"Too bad!" The witch knocked the bowl off the table, spilling the water on the floor. "Bastard. You're not getting one ounce of pity from me. I'll just let you dry out here." She placed Abigail in a large glass jar. It was tall; too tall for her to jump out of. The top was open. The witch put the jar on a windowsill and opened the window, exposing Abigail to the cold, drying air. "I could use dessicated frog in a few of my recipes."

Abigail tried to speak again. "Aaah." She could make sounds! If she could make the right sounds, she could do the undoing spell! "Aaah. Daah. Laah." So far, so good. "Aaah daah laah...daah?" No good. She needed a "gooh" sound, and couldn't get her lips to form the right shape.

"Don't get any ideas," the witch said. "Let's dry you out faster." She walked over to the jar with a large bag. The witch poured the contents of the bag into the jar. "There."

Abigail felt a searing pain, pain that she'd never felt before. Her eyes felt like they were on fire. Without thinking, she licked them. It was salt! Abigail slammed her eyes shut, stuffing them down in her head. She stayed still, feeling the burning on her skin, until she couldn't hear the salt being poured anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

Sebastian was in a world of hurt. He had landed on a rock. He could barely move. His hands felt weird, like his fingers were stuck together. He knew he'd been turned into something small, something that made it hard for him to move around. He couldn't stand, he could only crawl. Still, he could feel what he needed. He needed warmth, and he needed water.

He felt warmth coming from the east. Slowly, he started to crawl. He saw something large and yellow. It was the wild man's tent! If he could get in there, if he could somehow alert Linus, maybe Linus would put him in the lake. It wouldn't turn him into his old self, but he would get water. He needed water, more than anything.

Linus was fast asleep in the tent. Sebastian crawled in and looked around. There was a canteen! Sebastian swatted at it. It was heavy. He crawled around to the flat side of the canteen, where he could get some leverage. Then, slowly, he stood. He fell forward, right into the canteen, and knocked it over. Not what he wanted to do, but it would help a little. He quickly crawled in front of the mouth of the canteen and soaked up the little water that was still dribbling out.

"Ngggghh...what the…?" Linus wiped his face. The water had spilled right onto his cheek. "Oh. My water." He reached out and grabbed for the canteen. He got the frog instead. "Yuck!" His eyes snapped open.

Sebastian waved.

"What are you doing so far from the lake, buddy?"

Sebastian opened his mouth to speak. Nothing happened. When he closed his mouth, though, a croak came out. He waved again.

"Should we go back to the lake? You don't belong here, it's too dry."

No kidding, Sebastian thought, but the lake's not the best place, either. He swatted at the ground. His little hand scraped the wet dirt and left a mark. Nice! He drew a parallel line, and a line connecting those: an H. Next, he drew an E. Then, an L.

Linus stood. "You trying to dig, buddy? You won't find the water down there." He reached his hand down. Sebastian smacked it. "What are you doing?"

Sebastian quickly drew a P. HELP. Linus, an old man in a dark tent, completely missed it. He grabbed Sebastian. In his other hand, he picked up the canteen and poured the rest of it over Sebastian's frog body. It felt good. With the warmth of the hand under him and the water wetting his skin, his pain started to subside. He relaxed. He'd worry about what to do later.

Linus carried the frog and the canteen down to the lake. After filling his canteen and giving Sebastian another rinse, he set the frog down. Sebastian crawled into the water and stayed there, floating with his eyes above the water, enjoying the moisture while simultaneously wracking his brain and trying to figure out a way out of this predicament.

In the Witch's hut, Abigail was blind and covered in painful salt. She heard a thump. She waved her little frog hand, trying to get the attention of whatever had made that noise.

"Madam!" A low, gravelly voice called out. "Madam, what happened? Why are you in there?" Abigail felt herself being flipped upside down. "You're covered in salt! Were you attacked?" Abigail, forgetting her limitations, opened her mouth to speak. Nothing but salt!

She felt something warm. She was in someone's hand. Another hand was brushing her off. Then, she heard running water. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but she wanted that water more than anything. She pointed her little hand toward the sound.

"Yes, Madam, I'll rinse you off. I'm so sorry! Who did this?" He set Abigail down in the sink. She crawled under the running water. It was warm. It felt so good.

What she heard next made her feel even better. "Adalagu," the voice said. "Adalagu balala…" It was the undoing spell! The spell would be undone!

The elation was cut short by a flash of light, and a flash of pain. Pressure. Bones aching. Sickness. Then, a fall to the floor. Abigail was on the floor, soaking wet, and staring up at a terrified goblin.

"What the…? Who are you?" he asked.

"Who the hell are you?!" She stood. She still had to look up at him; he was a tall, muscular, and imposing figure. "I'm sorry. That was rude. I mean, I'm a guest of the witch's, an old friend from years ago. There was a misunderstanding. She turned me into a frog. Then, a frog snuck in. She grabbed me, thinking I was the intruder frog, and said something about dessicated frog for a potion. Then she threw me in a jar with the salt. Anyway, I'll be going now, excuse me!" She ducked past the goblin and ran out the door.

"Not so fast!"

"Yes, so fast," she answered. She grabbed what appeared the be a red and black rock and pitched it at the goblin. "Heads up!" With that, she hit the Circle of Summoning outside the swamp. The goblin, distracted by the jar of Void Mayonnaise that had washed ashore, didn't follow.

Abigail ran through the mountain cave, hopped over the tracks, and sprinted down to where she last saw Sebastian.

"Sebastian!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "Sebastian, where'd you go?!"

"I'm tryin' to sleep! Holy Yoba!" Linus stormed out of his tent. The sun was just coming up. He turned and saw Abigail. "Oh! What happened to you?"

"I'm sorry," Abigail said. "It's a long story. I got turned into a frog, and now I can't find Sebastian."

"It wasn't you in my tent last night, was it?"

"No. There was a frog in your tent?"

"Yeah, and it was acting real strange. It was trying to dig, waving at me, slapping me...then it settled down all nice in my hand when I got it wet. Normal frogs just jump away."

"What did you do with it?!"

"Took it down to the lake. Frogs need water."

"Maybe that was Sebastian!" Abigail looked toward the lake. "Thanks, I'll check there!"

She sprinted down to the lake, knelt by the bank, and immediately saw a problem. Frogs. So many frogs. They were all identical. They were all cold, too, stiff from the cool night air. She grabbed one and said the undoing spell. Nothing. It hopped away. She grabbed a second frog, and said the undoing spell again. Nothing.

She tried five more times. Each time, the frog jumped away without changing. Even a spell cast without effect takes its toll on its caster, and after the night Abigail had, she was already tired. She thought about walking back up to the tent and asking Linus to describe the frog he'd found, but decided it would be of little use. They all look the same.

In the lake, Sebastian finally noticed the hand reaching in and scooping up frogs. With his poor frog eyesight, and no nail polish on the hand's fingernails, he couldn't tell who it was. It could be Abigail! But it could be the farmer, catching frogs to sell. It could be Gus, gathering ingredients for haute cuisine. It could be Vincent, catching frogs to play with.

Sebastian crawled up on the bank. All he could see was the person's giant hands and black pants. That didn't narrow it down very much. He had to find a way to send a message, one that Abigail would understand, but the others would not.

He felt a strange soreness in his mouth as he tried to crack a smile. He had an idea. The Flower Dance! He could do the Flower Dance, Abigail saw him do it every year. That stupid thing was actually good for something! He stood on his hind legs. He shuffled forward, moving his hands according to the choreography, and screwing it up because he never practiced that horrible dance.

"Sebastian!" Abigail cried with delight. She picked him up and kissed him on his little frog nose, then said the undoing spell.

There was a flash of light, and of pain. Sebastian felt sick. He felt aching down to the center of his bones. He was soaking wet, with algae in his hair. His hair! He was human! He was face-to-face with Abigail!

She wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He yelped in pain and collapsed to the ground, screaming.

"Something's wrong! I'm a person again but something is really wrong, my whole body hurts!" He looked up at Abigail and groaned as he rolled over to his back. "Thank you for helping me. Please, get my mom. Or Harvey. Or the wizard. I can barely breathe."


	7. Chapter 7

Once again, Abigail took off running. She pounded on the door of the mountain house and waited, her heart nearly jumping out of her throat. No answer.

She pounded on the door again, but didn't wait for an answer this time. She ran to Maru's door and pounded on it.

"What the…?" Maru stumbled to the door in her pajamas. She rubbed her eyes and squinted, trying to get a close look at Abigail.

"Sebastian's really hurt!"

"What?"

"We got turned into frogs, and he's human again but he says his whole body hurts and he can't breathe!"

Maru put her glasses and her boots on, grabbed her backpack, and followed Abigail. Abigail tried to explain, but Maru just didn't get it. Maybe she was still waking up. Or maybe the story was just that weird…

"Sebby!" Maru ran to her brother as soon as she saw him. "What happened?"

"I got...turned into...a frog." He tried to take a deep breath, but winced and shuddered instead. "She...threw me. Witch. Threw me...on a rock. Everything...hurts."

"Crap!" Maru pulled out a pair of scissors. "Abigail, go get Harvey! Tell him to call an ambulance and meet us here." She turned back to Sebastian. "Sebby, I'm about to ruin your hoodie and your t-shirt. I'll buy you new ones."

"Okay…"

"This is a huge problem. Go now," Maru said. Normally, Sebastian would be throwing her across the room if she even joked about ruining his hoodie.

Again, Abigail ran. Her throat hurt. Her lungs were starting to burn. Tears ran down her face, then down her neck, into her shirt. It was uncomfortable. She didn't care. She had to get to Harvey. She vaulted over rocks, jumped down stairs, and finally pounded on Harvey's door.

No answer.

She grabbed a handful of small rocks from the ground and launched them, one by one, at the clinic's upstairs window. After four rocks, the light turned on.

"Harvey!" Abigail shrieked. "Help! Come downstairs!"

"Abigail! What is the matter?" Like Maru, Harvey was in his pajamas, with his glasses and his backpack.

"It's Sebastian! The witch turned him into a frog, and threw him, and," she inhaled sharply, "now he's saying he can't move and he can't breathe and his chest hurts…" She couldn't hold it in any longer. She sobbed.

Harvey wrapped his arms around her. "We can help him. Is he still a frog?"

"No, I fixed that." She sniffled.

"Where is he now?"

"On the mountain. Maru's with him. She wants you to call an ambulance."

"Does Maru have her bag?"

"Yeah."

"What is she doing?"

"Cutting off his hoodie. She says we need to go now!"

"Alright." Harvey's voice was softer than usual. "I'll drive. Let me get my cell phone. I'll meet you here."

After what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about two minutes, Harvey pulled around in a golf cart with knobby tires. The back seat was full of medical equipment. Abigail got in the passenger seat.

"He's up on the mountain, south of the wild man's tent and west of the lake."

The golf cart, with its electric motor, was nearly silent. Rocks crunched under the tires. Harvey was also silent, save for an offer of tissues, which Abigail gladly took. She could feel her back pressing into the seat as Harvey raced up the mountain. She didn't know golf carts could go that fast, especially not uphill! By the look on Harvey's face, she figured he didn't know that, either! Maybe Maru had done something to it.

Maru waved. Harvey hit the brakes, expecting to skid to a stop. Him and Abigail stopped immediately, hitting their knees on the frame of the cart. "Hey! What did you do to this thing!?" He hopped out, leaving the headlights on to illuminate the scene.

"Tell ya later," Maru said. "Have you called EMS yet?"

"No, I was driving," he said.

"Gimme your phone."

Harvey tossed Maru the phone, then went over to Sebastian. He was on oxygen, his shirt and his hoodie were cut open, and Harvey could see that some of his ribs were very visibly broken. His eyes were closed.

"Sebastian!" Harvey tapped his shoulder.

"What."

"Good, you're awake! Can you tell me what happened?"

"No...ask...Maru."

"Okay. You're short of breath, I can tell. Are you in pain? On a scale of one to ten, what's your pain level?"

Sebastian said something foul.

"We'll call that a ten. I'll start an IV and give you some pain medicine."

Abigail sat down beside Sebastian and took his hand. He gave her a gentle squeeze, then closed his eyes again.

"ETA five minutes!" Maru called. "They had someone coming from Grampleton!"

"Thanks." Harvey calmly placed the IV in Sebastian's arm. He drew up a syringe full of pain medicine, then put it in the IV. "Sebastian, you should start to feel better in about a minute. This stuff works fast. There's an ambulance on the way."

Sebastian squeezed Abigail's hand again.

After about a minute of waiting, Sebastian's body visibly relaxed. "Oh, hey," he said, "this is better."

"Good! Can you tell me what happened?"

"Kind of?" Sebastian chuckled, then winced in pain. "I can breathe a little better."

"Good."

"The witch turned me into a frog. She grabbed me by the leg and threw me. I landed on a rock, it was a hard landing. I went to the wild man's tent and knocked over his water so he'd notice me. He put me in the lake. A little while later, Abigail showed up. To let her know it was me, I stood up and did the Flower Dance."

Harvey laughed. "Smart!"

"Thanks. It hurt so bad. Then Abigail turned me back into a human, and I couldn't breathe and it hurt to move."

"I think you may have sustained injuries as a frog that carried over despite your transformation."

Slowly, the ambulance crawled over the rough mountain terrain. Two Joja Medical Response EMTs climbed out, removing the stretcher from the back of the ambulance. Harvey waved.

"Hello! This is Sebastian, a 22-year-old male complaining of severe pain and shortness of breath after being turned into a frog and thrown against a rock..." Harvey rattled off his report.

"WHAT." The attending EMT looked incredulously at Harvey.

Harvey continued. "Frog transformation was undone by an apprentice witch, at which time patient started complaining of pain and shortness of breath. Patient has an IV in his left AC, 100 of Fentanyl on board, he's on high-flow oxygen, and I'll be going too."

"You will?" Nearly everyone on scene asked that question, mostly at the same time.

"Yes. Patient has narcotics on board, and I'm a physician. Per your own protocols, you'd need a higher level of training to take this patient since he's on pain meds, and I'm not willing to wait for a second ambulance."

"You're in pajamas and slippers." The EMT nervously grabbed his phone. "I'm calling my supervisor to make sure this is okay."

"I'll talk to them on the way," Harvey said. "Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Let's go!"

With that, the EMTs loaded Sebastian in the ambulance. Harvey grabbed his bag and hopped in the back. Slowly, the ambulance drove off. When they hit the highway, Maru and Abigail heard the engines rev. The driver hit the sirens.

As if on cue, Maru and Abigail fell into each other's arms, crying.

"Harvey hates emergencies!" Maru wailed. "If he's voluntarily going, it's serious!"

"I could have done so much better!" Abigail buried her face in Maru's shoulder.

"And they're going hot, too!"

"It's all my fault!"

"No, it's all the witch's fault!" Maru sniffled. "It doesn't matter. I gotta tell Mom!"

Now it was Abigail's turn to say something foul. "My parents are gonna kill me, Maru! I hope they let me continue my training! I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen…"


	8. Chapter 8

The atmosphere in the living room of Pierre's General Store was tense, to say the least. It reminded Abigail of being sent to the principal's office in high school. Not only were her parents and Rasmodius there, so were Robin, Maru, and Harvey. They sat in a hastily-assembled circle of mismatched chairs.

"Sebastian and I had just left the saloon, and were walking along the railroad tracks."

Abigail saw Pierre's expression darken. She looked down and continued.

"I heard a laugh, then looked up and saw the witch. I told Sebastian that we should head to his house, that the witch doesn't like Rasmodius so she probably doesn't like me. We headed south, toward his house."

"Did you say anything to the witch?" Rasmodius asked.

"No."

"Did you make any gestures or faces when you looked up at her?"

"Only one of abject terror," Abigail answered flatly.

Maru snorted as she tried to hold in a giggle. "I'm sorry," she said. "I know you weren't trying to be funny…"

Rasmodius wrote in a hardback book. "Continue, Abigail."

"She turned me into a frog. At first, I didn't know what was going on, only that I was in pain all the way down to my bones, and that I had somehow gotten smaller. I knew I needed warmth and water."

"Frog transformations are uncomfortable," Rasmodius said.

"Then she turned Sebastian into a frog. She…" A lump rose in Abigail's throat. "She picked him up by the leg," she said, speaking slowly and deliberately, "and threw him like a frisbee, southbound and downward." Tears spilled from her eyes. Caroline left the room.

"At that point, you two were separated, correct?"

"Yeah. The witch grabbed me, and we flew on her broom to the mountain cave. I couldn't stop her. I'm sorry. I didn't want to jump, because I didn't know how well a frog can land…" Her voice wavered and trailed off.

Caroline ran back into the room with a glass of water and a handful of tissues. She gave Abigail a quick pat on the back, then sat down beside her.

"Abigail," Rasmodius said, "You are not in trouble. You did your best. We are merely trying to determine whether the witch violated any of the Laws of Sorcery-"

"She better have, she nearly freaking killed Sebastian!"

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?" Pierre whispered. "Don't scare his mother like that!"

"No! I'm not! I was there!"

"Actually," Harvey said timidly, "Abigail's right." He was drowned out by yelling.

"But he's recovering!" Pierre hissed. "Think of how Robin must feel as a parent!"

"Think of how Sebastian must feel in the hospital!" Abigail made no effort to keep her voice in check. "Read the doctor's notes!"

"I have them right here," Harvey mumbled.

"Excuse me!" Rasmodius stood. "Now is not the time for fighting, nor for gross sentimentality. I need to know the truth to deliver it to the Enchanters Tribunal. Robin. Maru. This may be upsetting. We will review the extent of Sebastian's injuries. You are welcome to leave."

Robin and Maru looked at each other. Both shook their heads.

"I hope this is better information than we got at the hospital," Robin said.

"If nothing else, it'll be more thorough. Harvey writes a good report." Maru scooted her chair closer to Robin and put her arm around her mom's shoulder. "It's not great news, though."

"Harvey. Read the report." Rasmodius sat and opened his book again.

Harvey cleared his throat and shuffled his papers. "Arrived on scene to find a 22-year-old male complaining of severe pain all over, and shortness of breath. Patient had two-word dyspnea. LPN on scene had exposed patient's chest…"

Harvey's report was full of medical jargon. Every once in a while, when Robin or Rasmodius looked particularly confused, Maru would interject. "That means he broke multiple ribs in multiple places," she'd say. "That means he was alert at first, but then got loopy because his brain was low on oxygen." At times, Maru's eyes would widen and she'd lean back in her chair, prompting a question from Robin. "When he was in surgery, his heart started beating way too fast."

"Patient is currently in Zuzu City Hospital intensive care unit in a medically induced coma. Sedation will be decreased and patient will be extubated within three to five days." Harvey put his papers back in a manila folder. "If...if the question was whether he was close to death, the answer is...maybe."

Rasmodius gave him a withering look.

"If Abigail and Maru hadn't acted as quickly as they did, he would have died, possibly while he was still a frog." Harvey was visibly sweating. "But, since Abigail was able to...ah...change him back to a form we can work with more easily, and because Maru was able to give first aid and call an ambulance, what could have been fatal injuries were treated with few complications."

"Could have been fatal," Rasmodius said. "That is what I needed to know. The witch acted without provocation and inflicted injuries on an uninvolved and non-magical party that could have been fatal. Thank you, Harvey. You are dismissed. Robin and Maru, you will leave as well."

Harvey and Robin walked out of the room immediately. Maru went over to Abigail and gave her a hug. "Thanks for your help," she whispered. "Good luck with whatever comes next. Let me know if you need anything."

"A freaking drink," Abigail quipped.

"Saloon tonight?"

"YES."

"No!" The wizard's voice was harsh. "Abigail, the tribunal will be meeting this afternoon. I will present my evidence then, and the witch will be sanctioned. She will most likely retaliate. I would like you to be sequestered in the tower as you continue your training, so that you may be covered by the Charm of Protection at all times."

"Sequestered?"

"Locked away."

"Where would she sleep?" Pierre stood, glaring at the wizard.

"Wherever she'd like," Rasmodius explained calmly. "My tower has one bed. It is too small for two people to sleep. So, at night, Abigail would be turned into a small creature, most likely a cat, and sleep that way."

Maru couldn't help it this time. She giggled out loud. "I'm sorry, I'm just getting this image of you curled up in a cardboard box by the fire…"

Abigail giggled, too, more out of nerves than anything else.

"Abigail. If you choose to continue your training, you will report to the tower at 5:00pm with the minimum amount of belongings that you may need. You will be locked away in the tower for at least three seasons, possibly more depending on your aptitude and the witch's actions."

Caroline gasped.

"I shall be in the tower, preparing a presentation for the tribunal." With that, he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Saloon….now?" Maru asked.

"YES."

"It's ten in the morning, honey…" Caroline spoke hesitantly.

"I'll call Emily, she owes me a favor."

"Are you really going to lock yourself in the wizard's tower until next year?"

Abigail was silent.

"You could come back to the store," Caroline said quickly, "I'd be glad to let you do the books, honey, and your credits at the college don't expire. We could do the shelves together. You could get back in the band with Sebastian and Sam." Her eyes welled up with tears. "I know you like spending time with Sebastian, how would you feel if he found another girlfriend when you were in the tower?"

"Mom!" Abigail grabbed Caroline's hands. "He's not my boyfriend. Now, listen. I love you. I love you and Dad more than I ever thought I could love two other people, and I appreciate the chance you gave me to study magic. We talk about this every Sunday night: I love magic. It is what I'm meant to do. I'm not looking forward to being locked in the tower, either, but I'm gonna do it. Who's to say the witch wouldn't come after me here even if I stopped learning? Now, I'm going to call Emily. Maru and I are going to the bar, where we will drink wine and moan about how much this is gonna suck for everyone. I'm going to come home, pack a box with my pajamas and my toothbrush, and lock myself in that tower until I'm a strong enough witch to stand on my own."


	9. Chapter 9

A season passed. Sebastian was released from the hospital, though he was still weak and thin. Abigail and Rasmodius settled into a comfortable, if lonely, routine. At night, Abigail would be transformed into a small black cat. She would sleep in her box, curled up by the fire heating the cauldron. In the morning, when Rasmodius woke up, he would undo the hex.

The wizard and his apprentice would then go to the table and study languages or potions over breakfast. After a couple hours, they would put their books away and practice spells. If there was a knock on the door, usually the farmer dropping off a Void Essence or some gems, the wizard would turn Abigail into a cat and she'd hide in the basement.

Pierre, Caroline, and Sebastian were warned not to visit. As Abigail's loved ones, they were in danger; the witch had promised to retaliate at the tribunal. Still, every few days, the farmer would bring a blackberry cobbler or a plate of Spicy Eel or a pumpkin to the tower. The wizard would react with indifference or scorn, and the farmer would wonder why Sebastian or Caroline bothered sending them over with such crappy gifts.

The Wizard would tell Abigail to make lunch, requesting dishes that would enhance their magical powers: Pufferfish with quartz garnish, molten iridium soup, salmon with emerald, and so on. This was Abigail's least favorite part of the day. She hated cooking. But, as a witch, she would need to know how to make food that combined organic and mineral sources to increase power. The Wizard insisted that she would cook lunch, every single day. Over lunch, they would go through the recipe and he would explain exactly how and why it worked.

After a few more hours of spells, it was free time. Abigail often used this time to write letters or draw pictures, though occasionally she'd ask to be turned into a cat. In cat form, she would climb the curtains and play with the trinkets on the shelves. She would run wild around the tower. The Wizard encouraged this; he knew that she was not getting regular exercise as a human, and wanted to keep her physical strength up. This was also when they would eat dinner, prepared magically by the Wizard. They would socialize rather than study.

Late in the evening, the Wizard and Abigail would set the nightly locking charms. The tower would be locked, of course. The stairs would be protected by a Hex of Repulsion. The Wizard's bedroom would be locked. The basement would be locked. Every large spellbook would be locked, and the Hex of Repulsion would be applied to the bookshelves. This annoyed Abigail, as she'd discovered how comfortable they were as a cat, but the Wizard stood firm. If the Witch somehow accessed the books, she could do great damage, even with light magic. After the locking charms and repulsion hexes were applied, the Wizard would turn Abigail into a cat. She would once again curl up in her box and go to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

"You don't understand, Mom. You can't fix it." Sebastian stared into his coffee cup, tracing circles around the lip. "And don't give me that crap about parents knowing their kids better than they know themselves. I'm a grown man."

"Oh, that ship sailed long ago, Sebby," Robin said sadly. "I knew you inside out when you were a little boy. But you grew and changed and a bunch of life happened along the way. I still think of you as my baby, but you're not." She took a drink of her own coffee. "Maybe I don't understand...but maybe, I don't need to."

He glanced up. "Hmm?"

"You have a whole world inside of you that I'll never know, and that's okay. Your thoughts and your problems are your own. I don't need to understand why you've been so sad lately. Like you said, I can't fix it." She stood up from the table and walked over to the coffee pot. "But I can do a little something to make you feel better. Would you rather be miserable drinking the cheap stuff," she said, rattling a can of coffee grounds, "or this fresh dark roast from the farm?"

"I thought you hated dark roast. And I thought you hated buying coffee from Pierre's since it's so expensive."

"Correct on both counts. I got this for you because I know you like it. Now, would you like me to make a pot of this stuff? I won't drink it, but you and Maru will. I know Harvey gets this stuff and she drinks it at work."

"Oh! Yeah! Thanks, Mom." He finished his cup and put it on the counter. "No hug, though."

Robin smiled and nodded. "Your coffee will be on the top shelf of the cabinet over the sink, so Maru can't reach it."

"Look, I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the butt lately." He sat back down at the table. "I'm stressed out, I'm buried in work but I can't buy fun stuff since I'm trying to save, Sam is completely oblivious," he groaned and rolled his eyes, "like he ALWAYS is…"

"He reminds me of a dog!" Robin pushed the power button on the coffee maker and sat back down. "He's constantly happy and energetic and clingy, and he doesn't understand why anyone else wouldn't be!"

"Right? When he's happy, he has to tell me all about it. When he's bored, he's gotta tell me all about it. When he's sad, he's gotta cling to me and follow me around all day. And, like, he expects me to drop everything to play or jam or...okay, Mom. Here's an example. We're working on a new track. It's about farming, mining, and chopping wood. Because Sam's been hanging out with the farmer, I guess. He wrote the lyrics, thank goodness, and he came up with this basic melody...but he expects me to pull the synth track out of...let's just say, parts unknown."

Robin nodded.

"And he gives me these instructions, like, make it sound like nature only don't put any acoustic sounds in there." He was sitting up straighter, dropping his voice lower and making broad gestures to mock Sam. "And, like, give it an atmosphere that could work for an open field or a dark mine or a forest, but, like, all at once, you know. And make sure there's a break for a totally sick guitar solo. And don't make it too heavy on the drum machine, but, like, make sure the drums are prominent."

"Are you being Sam?" Maru giggled.

"Oh, hey sweetie." Robin glanced over.

"Was my imitation really that obvious?" Sebastian asked.

"YES." Maru grabbed a container from the freezer. "I was just over there fixing the amp the other day."

"The amp broke? You fixed it? Thanks."

"No problem. And, yeah, dead-on impression of Sam."

"What's in that container, sweetie?"

"Algae samples for Dad."

"Oh, okay. As long as it's not the chicken I got the other day, I'm saving that for the aerobics class potluck next week."

With that, Maru walked off.

"You're not gonna offer her a cup?" Sebastian asked quietly.

"No, this is yours," she said. "Besides, I'm not gonna invite her to our conversation, I get the feeling that you'd rather not have her around right now. Hey, I should be able to pour you a cup of coffee, are you ready for one?"

"Yes please."

"Black?"

"Of course."

Robin set the cup of coffee down on the table, then poured a glass of water for herself. "So, Sam's a little much. And you're swamped with work. Want me to say you're sick for the next couple days so you can get your projects done and have some free time?"

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah. You've been busy and over Sam's nonsense before, but there's something else going on. You've never been this upset about deadlines and writing music before. I don't know what's going on, I'm guessing that's the thing I wouldn't understand, and you've already told me that I can't fix it. But just because I can't fix the big problem...Sebby, this is important. Just because nobody can fix what's hurting on a deep level, doesn't mean you have to suffer from everything going on around you. You can hurt from a disappointment or a broken heart or a deep insult, whatever's hurting you, and still do little things to give yourself little hits of pleasure. It doesn't take your problem away. It doesn't make it any less important. The people around you will still know you're hurting if you tell them. They'll believe you. So, please." She gestured toward his coffee. "Drink the good coffee. Get sashimi at the saloon when you go play pool. Turn down that project you know is gonna be tedious and annoying. Cut the tags out of your shirts. Listen to good music. Do whatever you can to be comfortable, to grab little moments of pleasure whenever you can. You're in enough pain as it is. You do not need to make things more painful for yourself."

Sebastian kept his head down. He was trying to hide his tears. Maybe he was doing an okay job, or maybe his mom was just being nice and pretending not to notice.

"SEBASTIAN! Dude, let's jam!" Sam came bursting through the door. He never knocked anymore.

"Sam!" Robin ran from the kitchen. "I hate to be rude, but do not come in here."

"Why? What's up?"

"Stomach flu. You do NOT want this. I had it earlier in the week, then Demetrius and Maru got it, and now Sebby's down for the count...it's awful."

"Aww, lame!" Sam took a deep breath. "WE'LL JAM LATER, BRO!"

Robin's phone vibrated in her pocket.

"By the way, you have mail," Sam said. He handed over a stack of envelopes.

"If you were anyone else, I'd get mad at you for checking my mail…"

"You're welcome!" With that, Sam turned and left.

Robin checked her text. It was from Sebastian: "thx mom ily"

She carried the mail back to the table and leafed through it. "Bill, bill, bill, Demetrius, something from Penny for Maru, and...this one is yours."

"Thanks."

Sebastian opened the letter without looking at the front of the envelope. He expected it to be something dumb from Sam, or a fish recipe from Willy. His face lit up when he unfolded the paper.

"Sebastian,

I miss you. I'm having fun studying with the Wizard, not gonna lie...but I miss you so much. I'm not allowed to talk about what I'm learning or when I'll be done, he doesn't want the witch to find out what's going on. So, I'll just say I'm having a good time, and I miss everyone in town, especially you. And my parents, of course, but that's different. The farmer might actually have a chance to win the egg hunt this year, as long as Vincent or Jas doesn't surprise us...either one of them could be a ringer. You may want to practice the Flower Dance again, though.

Remember the time that Sam put a pound of anchovies in the soup? That was freaking amazing! I just told the Wizard about that tonight at dinner, he thought it was pretty funny too. I miss getting into trouble with you and Sam. I miss walking along the railroad tracks with you. I miss Saturday mornings, when you'd come by with food.

I can't wait to see you again.

Abigail"


	11. Chapter 11

"When it comes time for a bird to leave the nest, its mother will attack it to prompt it to leave." The Wizard's words were calm and measured. "If it can fly, it will." He took a drink of his coffee.

Abigail's face fell. She grabbed a chunk of amethyst from the counter and bit off a large chunk. She was still in her pajamas. The sun was just starting to shine through the tower's lowest window.

"If it cannot fly, it will be pushed to the ground anyway, where it will be devoured by predators who understand the rhythms of nature."

She took another small bite of amethyst. "It's early spring," Abigail said. "It's not time for birds to kick their babies out of the nest yet."

"I'm speaking metaphorically, my dear."

"I figured as much," she answered, leafing through a well-worn spellbook. She found a dog-eared page and started reading aloud.

"I haven't heard that spell in ages."

Abigail kept reading.

"The only spell I know of that uses Old Fair Tongue is the Hex of…"

Abigail read faster, her voice raising in pitch.

"Abigail, no!"

Abigail heard the sound of chains falling to the ground. She wondered if Rasmodius heard it as well. "Abigail, YES!"

The Wizard stood up from his seat.

Abigail's voice was shrill as she raced through the transformation hex. Her arm felt hot from the inside out. She grabbed her wand and pointed at the Wizard, breathing a tiny sigh of relief as her spell made contact. "Do you know why so many curses involve turning people into animals? Because it's easy and effective!"

She dropped to her knees and looked at the wooden floor, where Rasmodius once stood. In his place was a fat, white grub. She picked him up. "Please, let's not go any further."

Suddenly, there was a flash of light. The Wizard materialized, boots and all, on top of Abigail's outstretched hands where the grub had been. She said a curse of an entirely different kind, reached up so her fingers were hooked around his heels, and yanked backwards.

Rasmodius yelped in surprise and pain as his butt hit the stone floor. Abigail jumped to her feet, cast a small healing spell around her hands, and shoved the rest of the amethyst in her mouth. She swallowed, wincing as the large chunks of rock worked their way down her throat. She planted her boot into his chest. "You wanna go?"

"What?"

"You really want to have a magic fight with me before you cut me loose?" Her hands were shaking. "See if the apprentice can beat the master? Is that how this is gonna go?" Quickly, again, and loudly, she cast the Charm of Protection on herself.

"Actually…"

"That's a terrible idea!" Abigail sunk her heel deeper. "That would be destructive, and exhausting, and it would put us both in danger! You and I both know that the Witch is out for our heads. You're powerful enough to defeat her, if not outright kill her, but I'm not-especially if I'm not at full strength! Forcing me to prove myself with magic would only wear me out, and you know how long it takes me to recover!"

"Abigail!"

The sharpness of his voice stunned them both. She jumped, stumbled, and stepped back, inadvertently releasing him.

"Stop." He gingerly raised himself to his elbows. "You physically hurt me." He rolled over to his side. "You're absolutely right. A magical battle would do nothing but destroy the tower and reveal your location to the Witch. I talked about the birds to see if you'd pick up on my threat," he said. He slowly tried to sit, then reconsidered. "Obviously, you did. You ate to charge your magic. That was good. You removed the Hex of Permission and cast a Charm of Protection on yourself, which I wasn't expecting…"

She smiled. She couldn't help it. That was good.

"...but then, you used actual, physical combat force against me!"

"Of course I did!" She grabbed a quartz crystal from the counter and sat down on the ground by him. "You threatened me. We both know I can't beat you in a straight magical battle, so I turned you into a grub in hopes that you couldn't turn back. But you can. You can do nonverbal spells, and I can't." She gestured toward the quartz. "Want some?"

"Keep it," he said. "You'll need it. You are to cast a Full Heal on me. Then, you will conjure a Frost Jelly inside the Circle of Summoning. After that, you'll mix up a Fortitude Potion, from memory. You will deliver it to my chamber, where I will be laying facedown on my bed, with the Frost Jelly sitting on my rear end," he said through clenched teeth, "thanks to you."

"Yes, sir."

"I still can't believe you did that!"

"Sorry, sir."

"Don't be. But please hurry up with the Full Heal."

From memory, Abigail chanted in the Fair Tongue. She knelt down by Rasmodius as the spell ended, taking both of his hands. After the last words were spoken, she planted a kiss on his forehead. That part was easy to remember. He'd told her to remember how moms kiss boo-boos all better. She was just glad she didn't have to kiss the part of him she'd hurt.

"Thank you, Abigail. Now please, help me up and get that Frost Jelly."

"Yes, sir." She offered him an arm. "Wow, you're light!"

"Your time as a cat has been paying off," he said. He hobbled over to the counter and leaned on it. "I still cannot believe that after all this time, all this study of magical attacks, you brought me down with a dirty playground trick! And then you kicked me while I was down!"

"It wasn't a kick! It was a stomp. I was trying to physically restrain you so we wouldn't have to have a magic battle."

"And restrain me you did. I may not be showing it because of all the pain I'm in-and please hurry up with that Frost Jelly-but I'm impressed."


	12. Chapter 12

It took Abigail three days to fully recover from the fight in the kitchen. She had used more energy than she actually had, and that had made her physically ill. After she cast the Full Heal on the Wizard, she had fallen to the floor and gone immediately to sleep. Rasmodius, whose spine had healed and whose energy had restored, put Abigail in his bed. Since being transformed puts a small amount of stress on the body, Rasmodius spent the nights of Abigail's illness as a cat, in Abigail's box by the cauldron.

On the fourth day, Abigail awoke. She was pale, with dark bags under her eyes. Her lips were cracked. Her hair was matted.

"Good morning, dear," Rasmodius said cheerfully. "Glad to see you awake! How are you feeling?"

"I need an emerald, a Green Algae, and a Largemouth Bass."

"How come?"

She glared. "To make Emerald Soup. One emerald, one Green Algae, one Largemouth Bass, half a cup of Life Elixir per serving, throw in the cauldron for 30 minutes, serve garnished with fish scales or emerald dust. Come on, I'm really hungry! And I know I'll have to cook it, because it's lunchtime, so can I please just get started?"

"Well done!" The Wizard's face lit up. "You chose the best remedy! I'd actually planned on giving you some when you woke up, so I've already mixed it and frozen it. It shouldn't take long to warm up in the cauldron."

"Oh! Thanks. I'm sorry to make you cook two days in a row-"

"Four, actually. You've been asleep for three days." He sat a glass of water and a small bottle of potion down at the table. "Drink up."

"Thank you." She drank the potion first. It made her feel slightly more awake, but she didn't get the telltale warmth of magic in her chest. "Hey, listen…" She looked down at the table. "Sorry I hauled off on you like that. I'm not sure what you were expecting, but I know physical violence was not the answer you were looking for. You were right to make me summon and heal and use up all my magic."

"Abigail, thank you. I was expecting you to use a spell directly on me, some sort of weakening or distracting spell. With the Hex of Permission in place, it would not have worked, of course, but I would have seen your thought process. Removing the Hex of Permission was a delightful surprise, as was turning me into a grub. Removing the Hex of Permission is an exhausting spell, that's probably what did you in."

"Delightful?" Abigail chuckled.

"Yes, absolutely! And while I obviously wasn't prepared for physical violence, and did not appreciate having one of my old bones broken…"

Abigail winced. "Sorry!"

"...your reactions tell me that you're a smart witch who can stand on her own. The absolute last thing I was expecting was to be tripped. And by pinning me down afterward, you not only restricted my movement, you also restricted my transformation options. I could not turn into a smaller animal, you would have smashed me. I could have, and probably should have, teleported away or transformed into something larger. However, you would have used the undoing spell."

"Hell yeah I would have!" She laughed.

He scooped some soup out of the cauldron and set it down in front of her. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thanks."

"Of course. I wouldn't want you to go home in your current state, your parents would think I've been mistreating you!"

"Wait. Go home?"

"Yes. Obviously, your study is not complete. My study is not complete, and I've been a wizard for longer than your mother has been alive. But since you can stand on your own, since you have the wits and the basic magical skills to defend yourself, I will permit you to leave the tower."

"I'll need to put a Charm of Protection on everyone I talk to, and set a Locking Charm on the house at night. Should I put a Hex of Repulsion on my door?"

"Yes, and on your spellbooks."

"Spellbooks?"

"You'll be getting many of them. I've prepared two trunks full. Obviously, you'll be concentrating on defensive and healing spells first. I'd prefer that you learn summoning and teleporting first, but we do not have that luxury."

"That makes sense." Abigail ate a spoonful of soup. "Thanks again for the soup, food always tastes better when someone else makes it."

"Agreed. Cooking is a menial chore. But it is necessary, especially for a novice magic user. The right foods will keep your magic strong and allow you to cast more spells than you would be able to cast if you only ate non-magical foods." Rasmodius took a spoonful of his own soup. "I'd love to see the look on your father's face the first time you use the kitchen stove to make Molten Iridium Soup."

"Me too!" She laughed. "He already gets grossed out when I eat minerals, he's gonna lose his mind once he realizes I can cook with them! I'm not gonna tell him, either, I'll just drop a giant bar of iridium and an amethyst in the soup pot."

Rasmodius cracked a wry smile. "Don't forget the Mutant Bug Meat! He'll be beside himself if he realizes what that is and where it came from."


	13. Chapter 13

Abigail hauled out her white dress from the depths of the closet. Fortunately, and surprisingly, it still fit. Had it not, she'd be stuck wearing Marnie's old dress, with its poofy sleeves and copious ruffles and giant bow on the butt, all in satin so shiny that the other villagers could have seen themselves cringe in its reflection. Her dress wasn't perfect, but it was inconspicuous for a Flower Dance dress and it fit, so she threw it on.

"You look beautiful, honey!" Caroline cooed from the hallway. "But...are you really going to wear black combat boots?"

"It's that or gray sneakers, Mom," Abigail said. "I haven't had time to go shopping."

"You've been home for a week."

"I got home on Tuesday evening. Wednesday and Thursday, I put Charms of Protection and Hexes of Repulsion down on the people and the house. Friday, I was in the mines half the day and studying half the day. Saturday was my test with the Enchanters Tribunal. Sunday I slept all day because of the test. Yesterday I studied and did the tax form for the store. I haven't had time to go shopping," she said again.

Caroline stepped back. "Well...you're right." She paused for a second to gather her thoughts. "What about Emily? Doesn't she wear your shoe size? She might have an extra pair of heels."

Abigail was just about to shoot back a snarky retort. Instead, she bit her lip and nodded. "That's true...she might. I'm heading over there, I'll see what she has."

"Thanks, honey. I just want you to look your best."

"I know. See ya at the dance." Abigail left and headed toward Emily's house, with no intention of actually wearing high heels. Emily, always on the outer fringes of fashion, had white combat boots. Abigail had a bolt of sultry red cloth to offer her, to make the deal a little sweeter in case Emily was planning on wearing the boots herself.

The mood at the Flower Dance was tense and electric, full of whispers and giggles and blushing. The rumors had been flying for weeks, as they always did. Who would dance with who? Who would ask? Who would be turned down? Would this be the year that Maru finally asked Penny to dance? Who would the farmer ask to dance? Would Elliott and Leah finally do more than dance this year?

Abigail happily walked across the bridge, having scored Emily's white boots for the day. She stopped at the shop booth and said hello to her father, found Marnie and thanked her for offering her old dress, then found Sebastian and Sam.

Sam ran up to her, glomped her in a hug, and swung her around. "Abigail! I'm so glad you made it!"

"Me too! This is gonna sound weird, but I missed it last year!" She squeezed him and tousled his hair.

"We missed you last year!"

Abigail let go of Sam and walked up to Sebastian. The hug she gave him was softer and slower, coupled with a whisper in his ear instead of the yelling she was doing with Sam. "I'm glad you're here, Sebastian."

"I had no choice," he whispered back, "But now, I'm glad I'm here too."

Abigail stepped back, still holding Sebastian's hand, and waved Sam over. She took Sam's hand as well, and bowed her head.

"Are we praying?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Just stay quiet." With that, Abigail softly whispered the Charm of Protection. She felt heat and energy leaving her body as the charm was cast.

"Woah!" Sam laughed. He dropped Abigail's hand. "I just got really hot all of a sudden!"

"I put a Charm of Protection on you guys. It protects you from magical attacks. You're not completely immune, so don't do anything stupid."

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Why did I do it? Or why shouldn't you do anything stupid?"

"Yeah," Sam laughed. "Both."

"The witch has made it clear that she wants to hurt me. We've seen before that she'll hurt the people around me, to get to me. So, I'm doing what I can to protect you guys. And don't do anything stupid because you're not completely immune to magic. You have no extra protection against anything else, either." She paused, suddenly aware that she was still holding Sebastian's hand. She hoped that her makeup would hide the flush spreading across her cheeks, but didn't feel too optimistic about it. "Look. Hopefully I did this for no good reason, and nothing will happen today. But I want you to be protected, just in case."

"Thanks." Sam gave her a goofy smile. "So you're not gonna dance with me?"

There was no way to hide her blushing now. "That's flattering...but I'm gonna have to say no. Sorry."

Sam giggled. "Thought so. Not even mad!"

"Will you dance with me, then?" Sebastian asked. "Please?" His voice was soft, even softer than usual. "I thought I was hoping to stay out of it, but that was when I wasn't sure if you'd show up, and-"

"Of course! I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Oh! Thank you." He squeezed her hand.

The scramble for partners continued. Maru asked Penny to dance, so she promised Sam a dance next year. Before Harvey had a chance to feel bad about losing his usual partner, the farmer had asked him to dance. It was obvious that Leah and Elliott would dance together; they'd already started, waltzing around the dance floor to the music on the loudspeaker.

"Attention, please!" The mayor had grabbed a microphone, and stood in the middle of the floor. "The Flower Dance is about to begin. Please line up with your partners; men-I mean, those dancing the leading part," he said, giving Maru a sideways look, "on the south side of the dance floor. Those dancing the following part, line up on the north side." Abigail lined up. She looked up just in time to see Sam and Vincent lining up off the south side of the dance floor, across from Jas on the north side. Sam was teaching Vincent the steps.

The mayor stepped back, nudging between Emily and Haley to get off the floor. "Remember your cues, and happy dancing!" The music started.

Abigail came to the embarrassing realization that she hadn't practiced the dance in two years. "Five, six, seven, eight, step, step," she mumbled to herself, hoping she'd remember that finicky part in the middle, glancing over to make sure she was in sync with Penny beside her.

She heard that ominous cackle in the air. It was the witch, in broad daylight! Judging by their reactions, the other dancers heard it, too.

Twin beams of void energy knocked Sam and Sebastian down. The witch swooped low toward Abigail. Abigail ducked, reached up, and grabbed the witch's leg, causing her to fall from her broom.

The music stopped. The dancers ran, with the exception of Sam and Sebastian, who were groggily trying to sit up. Abigail held the witch down by her shoulders. She had a decision to make. She could cast a Hex of Binding. She could cast a Transformation Hex. She could call out across the forest for her magical mentor's help.

Instead, she punched the witch in the jaw. "How dare you!" Abigail yelled.

The witch yelped in pain.

"You should be ashamed of yourself! You could have hit a child with that Void Beam!"

"Oh, you mean other than those two?" She gestured toward Sam and Sebastian. Sebastian was on his knees, but they were both still moving slowly and stiffly.

Abigail turned to look. The witch disappeared from under Abigail, leaving her to fall on her hands and knees. In an instant, the witch was back on her broom, floating above the festival, shooting fireballs into the nearby trees.

"NO! Guys, knock her down!" Abigail scrambled to her feet. She stood her ground and crossed her arms in front of her chest, whispering a spell to heal her friends. As soon as she felt the spell leave her body, she sprinted toward Pierre's booth.

Sebastian sprang to his feet. He grabbed a rock from the ground and hurled it as hard as he could, right at the witch. He only got the tail end of the broom, but that was enough. She spiraled out of control and headed for the ground. Sam grabbed the broom by the bristles and pulled it out from under the witch, who fell flat on her face on the dance floor.

Abigail ran full tilt toward the floor, yelling at the top of her lungs, with a Rarecrow slung over her shoulder. She slammed it down on the witch, right between the shoulder blades.

"AUGH!" The witch screamed and squirmed. "You have no honor…" Abigail couldn't see her face, but she could hear the sneer in the witch's voice.

"Don't talk to me about honor!" Abigail's voice was practically a roar. "You're the one lighting the forest on fire! You're the one shooting Void Beams at non-magical people! You're the one trying to lay waste to me and my town for no other reason than a grudge against Rasmodius!"

The witch whimpered.

"Calling you dishonorable would be an insult to thieves and liars and cowards!" Abigail stepped on the witch's back. She caught Sam and Sebastian's eyes, then gestured toward the witch's broom. "You are petty! And evil! And..." She took a deep breath, then let out a barrage of raunchy insults in the language of the Shadow People. Caroline had to stifle a laugh.

Sam held the witch's broom at an angle. Sebastian stomped it, breaking it in half with a jagged edge. Sam took the top piece, ran a few steps, then hurled it at a flaming tree. Sebastian grabbed the end with the bristles. They were tied with a length of twine, which he used his pocketknife to cut.

The witch squirmed under Abigail's boot.

"Do not move!" Abigail dug in her heel. She waved to Sebastian and gestured toward the Wizard's tower. Sebastian took off running.

He didn't have to run far. Rasmodius appeared in a flash of light before him. "Yoba, what the-"

"Good show," Rasmodius mumbled, scooting Sebastian out of the way. He jogged over to the witch.

She reached out a hand to curse the Wizard. Abigail stepped on that hand, causing the witch to cry out in pain.

Rasmodius calmly and silently encased the witch in what looked like a glassy crystal. He took both of Abigail's hands. "Abigail, let's summon the Water Elemental."

She nodded. In unison, they began to chant. Clouds formed over the forest.

The chant continued. The clouds grew heavy and dark. As Abigail and Rasmodius raised their voices, the clouds let loose a deluge of rain. It doused the fires.

Not only that, it destroyed the loudspeakers with a sickening electrical buzz and a puff of gray smoke. It ruined the girls' perfect coifs, muddied white dresses and shoes, and turned Sam's spikes into a floppy mess.

Once the last tree stopped smoldering, the rain let up.

"Well done!" Rasmodius took a step back, admiring the flooded river.

"What's next for her?" Abigail asked, gesturing toward the witch.

"She stays like that. She will be frozen in exactly the state I found her, until I release her, most likely under the orders of the Enchanters Tribunal."

"Oh, Yoba, even the pain?" Abigail cringed.

"She can be healed through the crystal, but she cannot move-"

Abigail had already bowed her head and crossed her arms. She was casting a healing spell. As the magic left her body, Abigail fell to her knees. The crystal glowed quickly, then stopped.

"Dear!" Rasmodius helped Abigail to her feet and handed her a bottle of potion. "Why did you do that?"

Abigail downed the bottle in one swig. "'Cause I just hauled off and beat the hell out of her…?" She shrugged apologetically. "I don't want her to suffer, I just want her to stop being a threat."

"Spoken like a good witch," he said. "I was about to do the same. An old grudge is no reason to allow someone to suffer. And while her crime was heinous, being locked away with no movement or freedom to speak of is punishment enough."

"Abigail!" Mayor Lewis was stomping back over the bridge, soaking wet and looking angry. "What just happened? What is the meaning of all this?"

Abigail shrugged. "Which part do you need explained? Witch attacked. I defended. Witch started fires, Sam and Seb knocked her off her broom. I stopped her and held her down, Rasmodius immobilized her, we put out the fires."

"What did you do to provoke her?"

"Got trained by Rasmodius. She has a grudge against him."

"Why did you make that rainstorm? It flooded the river! It ruined my equipment!"

"We summoned the Water Elemental to put out the fires. Not even Rasmodius can just make fire disappear."

"Why did you beat her so brutally?"

Abigail laughed out loud, mostly out of shock. "Okay, did you see those beams that she shot at Sam and Seb? Those were Void Beams. Those can kill people. I'd put a Charm of Protection on the guys earlier, but she didn't know that. She attacked them, and nearly missed Vincent, with an attack specifically used to kill people!" Her voice became louder and more shrill, to the point that she was nearly screaming. Rasmodius put a hand on her shoulder.

Lewis fidgeted. "Oh. I thought they just...knocked Sam and Sebastian over."

"Your eyes do not deceive you, sir," Rasmodius said. "We're very fortunate that the Void Beams didn't kill them. Since Abigail had protected Sam and Sebastian, the Void Beams only knocked them to the ground and drastically slowed them down. Based on the spell she used, it seems that the witch's intent was to kill Sam and Sebastian. And since she lit fires after returning to her broom, we can safely say that she did not care who or what she endangered after that. While Abigail's methods were unexpected and honestly uncouth, she prevented the loss of life-and possibly the loss of the entire town. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, sir," Lewis said quietly. "Thank you for explaining. I can only hope that acts of magic are covered by my insurance policy."

"Oh come on!" Sam laughed. "If you really need an amp and some speakers that badly, like, if insurance won't cover them, just borrow mine next year! I'll hook you up!"

Lewis nodded.

"By the way," Sam asked, "When's Abigail getting her Stardew Hero Award?"

"Talk to me after I wring out my underwear," Lewis grumbled. He walked off.

Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail dissolved into giggles. Rasmodius pressed his lips together and looked down, trying to stifle his own laughter.


	14. Epilogue

Later that evening, Abigail was in her room. She was finally dry, and in her pajamas. David the guinea pig was sitting on the bed beside her, munching lettuce off of a saucer. She'd taken him out to keep her company; she'd needed something to break up the tedium of writing her statement to the Enchanters Tribunal.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!"

"Holy Yoba, that was epic!" Sebastian walked in, carrying a brown paper bag. "I didn't want to say much in front of Lewis or the Wizard, but man, that was amazing!" He sat down on the bed beside her. "Oh, and I brought dinner."

Abigail grabbed the bag and looked inside. There was an amethyst and a take-out box labeled "Spicy Eel." Abigail gasped and threw her arms around Sebastian. Her notebook fell to the floor.

"I seriously love this! You're the best, Sebastian!"

"Thank you." He returned the embrace. "Thanks for saving us back there, too."

Abigail didn't let go. "I'm just glad you're okay." She took a deep breath, still holding him, and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Me too." He returned the favor with a kiss on the forehead. "Were you studying? I saw you writing something."

"Oh, that's my statement for the Enchanters Tribunal. Apparently, I'll be seeing them again tomorrow, explaining my side of the fight with the witch." She reluctantly let go of Sebastian and grabbed her notebook. "They'll need to know everything to figure out how long she should stay frozen in that crystal."

"Well, don't let me stop you from getting your work done."

"You can stay!" Abigail put her hand on his knee. "I mean, I'm working on this, but I could totally use the company. David's down for the count." She gestured toward the guinea pig, who was sleeping soundly on his dinner plate. "I have video games…"

Sebastian laughed. "Thanks! If you really don't mind, I'll just hang out and play Junimo Kart. Want me to put David back in his cage?"

They stayed in Abigail's room until late that night, Abigail writing and Sebastian playing games. It was nearly 11:00pm when Pierre realized that Sebastian was still there.

He barged in without knocking. The scowl on his face quickly lightened when he saw Abigail and Sebastian sitting together on the edge of the bed. Abigail was absorbed in her writing. Sebastian was still playing Junimo Kart, every once in a while telling Abigail how he'd done in the last race or cursing under his breath.

"Abigail, it's late."

"Oh! Hey, Dad. Sorry about that, we were trying to be quiet."

"That's not a problem, I was awake too. But we should both get to bed. Sebastian, I'll need to ask you to leave, please."

"Yes, sir."

Abigail had to try hard to hide a smirk. She'd never heard Sebastian call anyone "Sir" before.

Sebastian said his goodbye with a warm hug, which Abigail gladly returned. He left with a smile on his face, and shook Pierre's hand on the way out.

"Abigail, I'll admit, I'm pleasantly surprised at what I saw today." Pierre glanced out the bedroom door, hearing the front door close. "And tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all, that was a great right cross!" He laughed. "I did not realize you had that type of power!"

It was Abigail's turn to laugh. "Really? That's what you noticed?"

"I'm a boxer, I pay attention to these things! I saw you doing magic on Sebastian and Sam, too, to protect them and get them moving again. That was very kind of you. And while the downpour was a bit excessive, it did get rid of the fires before they damaged anything, other than a couple trees. Then, when I saw you and Sebastian in your room, you were working instead of...you know…I was expecting something totally different, especially since he had asked me about buying a bouquet for you."

Abigail's cheeks flushed a deep red.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm very proud of you. I'm proud of you as a daughter, and as a witch."


End file.
